Former Edison executive expects college to face sanctions in reaccreditation

BRITTANY SHAMMAS

7:00 PM, Dec 18, 2011

Steve Atkins, Edison College

Edison State College President Kenneth Walker

FORT MYERS - "You really want to avoid probation, but really, what's going to happen – what will turn that – depends on what happens between now and June," former Edison administrator Steve Atkins said. "It won't escape sanctions. The problems are just too entrenched."

As Edison State College officials work to address concerns raised by its accrediting body with the goal of being reaffirmed, the administrator who formerly led the school in the process warns achieving that goal might not be as clear-cut as it seems.

Steve Atkins, who was fired in October from his position as vice president of academic affairs, said he is confident Edison won't lose its accreditation. However, he predicted that the college won't be reaffirmed and will face a sanction – at best, a warning and at worst, probation – when it is reviewed in June by the Southern Association on Colleges and Schools, or SACS.

The severity and length of that sanction will depend on what changes the college makes in the next few months, said Atkins, who has years of experience with SACS as a committee member and as a college administrator. Atkins was let go in October for insubordination and maintains his termination was an act of retaliation by embattled President Kenneth Walker, who since has been placed on leave.

The college has been mired in controversy for months due to course-swapping issues, miscommunication about the college's unaccredited nursing program and underqualified teachers in classrooms, among other problems.

"You really want to avoid probation, but really, what's going to happen – what will turn that – depends on what happens between now and June," Atkins said. "It won't escape sanctions. The problems are just too entrenched."

Erin Harrel, interim vice president of Academic Affairs, declined to respond to Atkins' assertions regarding Edison's reaccreditation status, but wrote in an e-mail that the school's reputation and accomplishments in its 50 years speak for themselves.

"We firmly believe that we are moving quickly to enact the organizational and process changes needed to respond to the visiting team's concerns," the e-mail read. "We remain committed to serving our students and the citizens in our five-county area, and maintaining our continued membership with the Florida College System and SACS."

Accreditation is critical because it allows the college to receive federal financial aid funding for students and allows students to have their degrees recognized by employers and other schools.

It has been a focus for the college's board of trustees, which changed the school's leadership in part to send a positive signal to SACS that it is serious about getting on track.

Edison has until April 10 to respond to 14 recommendations, which deal with issues ranging from integrity of academic programs to qualifications of academic officers, made by a SACS committee that visited the college last month. The recommendations relate to 14 areas in which the school is out of compliance of commission standards.

"They have an opportunity now to respond and fix those areas of noncompliance and the (SACS) board of trustees will make a determination of whether or not they have," said Barry Goldstein, chairman of the commission.

If administrators are unable in April to provide evidence that they have met those recommendations, the college will be placed on sanction, Goldstein said.

Harrel acknowledged this in her e-mail to the Daily News, writing that the school "may be asked by SACS to provide continuing monitoring reports."

While on sanction, which Atkins said could hurt enrollment and donations, administrators would provide reports to show what was being done to put the college into compliance.

One recommendation Atkins said poses a challenge deals with ensuring the college has the appropriate number of full-time faculty members. It will be difficult, he said, to hire and pay for enough faculty within five months.

Atkins said he was troubled by Walker's previous statements to the media that there were "no surprises" in the 14 recommendations, as one of them — dealing with integrity — is considered the "kiss of death."

Humanities professor Wendy Chase echoed Atkins' concerns in a letter she sent to board members last month. Chase wrote that she felt downplaying the severity of the problems would "backfire and further damage our reputation."

An integrity violation, Atkins said and Goldstein agreed, is rare.

Goldstein said that among more than 800 colleges and schools accredited by SACS, only a few have had findings dealing with integrity in about six years.

"That's the first principle which all other principles rely on," Goldstein said. "We expect that an institution is working with integrity. And accreditation is about quality and integrity."

Goldstein wouldn't get into specifics of why Edison had an integrity finding, but said this generally relates to "integrity in what they do and how they act in all aspects."

He gave the example of a college listing in its documentation requirements to graduate from a program, and then not following those requirements.

Edison administrators say they are working diligently to address the integrity finding and the 13 others. Acting President Patricia Land said during a press conference soon after stepping into her role that doing so will be a priority for everyone on campus in her time as president.

"We're going to have some work to do," Land said, but losing accreditation is "not something I'm afraid of nor are the members of our staff."

The board, too, plays an important role in the process, Atkins said.

"I think what SACS will watch closely is what happens in the next few months with the board — the decisions they make, how seriously they take the report," he said.

Trustee Chris Vernon said he's determined to avoid probation. He said he feels confident that with some hard work, Edison is headed in the right direction.

"I have enough confidence in the team that's in place and the changes that we're in the process of making that I'm confident we're going to avoid probation," he said. "But I think we need to work on it."